Tom judges Simon is not qualified to spot talent

Sir Tom Jones has taken a swipe at the X Factor’s Simon Cowell, saying he is not in a position to judge talent.

The 71-year-old Welsh crooner, a panellist on BBC1’s new music talent show The Voice, revealed he did not sign up until he knew his fellow judges were musicians too.

He is joined by Jessie J, will.i.am and The Script’s Danny O’Donoghue as coaches on the series which is set to go head-to-head with Cowell’s other show Britain’s Got Talent when they launch on 24 March.

Sir Tom said he had never wanted to do talent shows like X Factor and American Idol because not all the judges could sing themselves and added: “How can this person, not mentioning any names, but how can he or she give singers advice if they’ve never gone through it themselves?”